Marcus Volteius, silver denarius (Type I), 3.77 g.
Title
Marcus Volteius, silver denarius (Type I), 3.77 g.
Creator
Marcus Volteius
Date
c. 78 BCE
Description
Obverse: Laureate head of Jupiter right; to right, control mark, crescent. Border of dots.
Reverse: Tetrastyle Doric temple of Jupiter Capitolinus with closed doors, surmounted by ornamental crockets, acroteria at the lower angles and apex; in pediment, thunderbolt; in exergue, [M VOL]TEI M [F]. Border of dots.
Style/Period: Roman Republic
Mommsen determined that Marcus Volteius issued coins to commemorate games held during the year of his service as magistrate (see also coin C034). This coin commemorates the ludi Romani which were held in January and conveyed the promise of largitiones or bounty in the future. The reverse commemorates the beginning of the reconstruction of the Capitoline temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus in that year. The reconstruction was completed in 69 BCE. Since nothing of the temple is preserved, coins are the most valuable resources for the architecture of one of the most important temples in Rome. The use of a symbol as a control mark on the obverse continues the tradition of control marks by expanding from simple letters to more elaborate symbols.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: T. Mommsen, Histoire de la monnaie romaine (Paris 1865-1875), II, 467-470, no. 257a; E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Volteia, 1; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), I, 388, no. 3154; T. R. S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, II (New York 1952) 455; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 127, no. 774; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 399-402, no. 385/1; R. A. G. Carson, Principal Coins of the Romans, I (London 1978) 47, no. 152; C. Foss, Roman Historical Coins (London 1990) 6, no. 21.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: T. Mommsen, Histoire de la monnaie romaine (Paris 1865-1875), II, 467-470, no. 257a; E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Volteia, 1; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), I, 388, no. 3154; T. R. S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, II (New York 1952) 455; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 127, no. 774; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 399-402, no. 385/1; R. A. G. Carson, Principal Coins of the Romans, I (London 1978) 47, no. 152; C. Foss, Roman Historical Coins (London 1990) 6, no. 21.
Source
Classics Department Collection
Identifier
C033
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Files
Citation
Marcus Volteius, “Marcus Volteius, silver denarius (Type I), 3.77 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/394.